Unit 60. 'Politicians are the Same All Over ...'

QuotationWhen we include a quotation of someone else's words in what we say,
we ofen choose to use level tones and then a falling tone for the final
speech unit in the quotation. This shows that we are simply reporting
the words as they were spoken, and not giving a paraphrase of what was
said: At this point it is worth remembering the words of Nikita Khrushchev:
'// poliTICians →// are the SAME →// ALL Over ↓//. They PROMise →//
// to BUILD a BRIDGE →// where there is NO RIVer ↓//.'

Preparing for quotationLevel tone is also commonly used on a reporting verb (e.g. say, claim, argue)
which comes before a quotation. Typically, there is also a step up to a
relatively high pitch on this verb, a pause, and then the first word of
the quotation is also said relatively high. This marks clearly that
what comes next is a quotation rather than a paraphrase: A headline in today's paper ⇑ SAYS → ... : '⇑ TEAcher thrown out of classroom by students '.
Just before the war began, a goverment minister ⇑ CLAIMED →... : '⇑ ONly by
attacking now can we defend our country'.
A leading group of economists have ⇑ ARGUED → ... : '⇑ EURopean development aid
should double in the next fve years'.

Building suspenseWe can also use a step-up, level tone and a pause in order to build
anticipation or suspense, so that listeners focus particular attention
on what comes next (see also Unit 55C). Notice that what comes afer the pause may start high, mid or low:And the term we use for this phenomenon ⇑ IS → ... entropy. ('entropy' is high) Much to our surprise, our research⇑ SHOWED → ... a sharp fall in average sea temperatures. ('sharp' is mid) If the radio signals are not from the ⇑ EARTH → ... where do they come from? ('where' is low)

It's a worrying and potentially damaging development.
Painting is just another way of keeping a diaryThey're the best rock band of the twentieth century
It's the most signifcant electronic consumer device ever invented.
I'm an environmental status assessment consultant.

Example: They were introduced as: 'The best rock band of the twentieth century'
1 She said that she was employed as:
'______________________________________'
2 The managing director described the rise in oil prices as:
'______________________________________'
3 Apparently it was Picasso who said:
'______________________________________'
4 The book describes the mobile phone as:
'______________________________________'

Now read the sentences aloud. Quote the people's words using level
tones and a final falling tone. Then listen and compare what you said
with the recording.

Listen to these extracts from a news broadcast. In which do you
think the highlighted part is a quotation, and in which do you think it
is a paraphrase of what the original speaker said? Underline
'Quotation' or 'Paraphrase'.Key.1 Paraphrase
2 Paraphrase
3 Quotation
4 ParaphraseExample: The Foreign Office has been accused of breaking its promises on support for refugees by a senior United Nations official. Quotation / Paraphrase
1 After a fifth shooting in the city in a week, the people of Dublin have been urged to remain alert but stay calm. Quotation / Paraphrase
2 In a speech yesterday, Professor Ken Sun of the Climate Research Institute claimed that there is now no doubt that global warming is producing climate change. Quotation / Paraphrase
3 Hurricane Katrina has been described as the worst natural disaster to hit the United States in living memory by a US government spokesperson. Quotation / Paraphrase
4 The Prime Minister has said that universities must train more scientists in order to meet the country's needs over the next few decades. Quotation / Paraphrase